Losing a friend

I've been surrounded by lots of talk about death lately.  I've been preparing for it for almost 7 years now, and I know, I won't be ready for it.

Today, I was killing some time before an event at Pioneer, and I glanced through Facebook.  I saw a post my friend Lenny had made about losing a friend, and he posted a picture of himself with his friend.  I passed the phone over to Connie and said how good Lenny looked.  We hadn't seen him for awhile, although we just talked to each other last week.

He had called because he wanted to check on Connie.  To see "how his buddy" was.  They talked a bit.  Then she went to bed and I called him back, and we talked a bit.  At the end of the call, we had both made each other cry.  We ended up texting each other after we hung up, and we exchanged our love for each other.

As I took the phone back this morning, I realized it wasn't Lenny who had posted that.  It was his friend posting about Lenny.  He had passed away over night.  I called one of our old neighbors and she filled me in a bit.  I was literally in shock.  Connie and I both cried and hugged.  Then we went to our event.

Before dinner tonight, we both had a beer and toasted our friend.   We cried some more.  I told Connie that I had wanted Lenny to host her "Celebration of Life" parties in Ashtabula that she's put in her dying wishes.  it was going to be fitting that we do it in his garage where the three of us had so damn many good times.

Lenny was probably the first "non teaching" friend I had had in my adult life.  He didn't know me from school or work.  He knew me as the guy down the street who politely waved as I drove by.  A guy who finally got tired of waving when I saw him out, pulled in one day with my wife and a 12 pack of beer and said, "Hi.  We're the Sims."  That was the spring of 1995.  Damn, that was almost 25 years ago.

We golfed together.  We went out together.  We went to the Elks together.  But mostly, we sat at each other's houses, just down the street from each other, and just enjoyed each other's company.  A friendship that couldn't have been simpler.

When we got rid of the house, he got first choice of everything after my daughter.  He still used my old snow thrower (Big Red).  He got Fuzzy the Bear (a fixture of our basement).  He took the old fire bell off the wall. 

My last night in Ashtabula, before starting full time RV'ing, I stayed at his house.  He stole my car keys so that I wouldn't ghost him in the morning without saying good bye.

Tonight, after Connie went to bed, I was going to call up some friends and see who wanted to get hammered.  If nobody did, I was going to hit the bars in town.  Instead, I did a little more healthy thing and sat home, watched a couple of Disney movies that I'd never seen.  I drank water and ate some M&M's.  I cried a few more times.

As I said, I've been preparing for death for awhile.  But when one hits you out of the blue, it shows you your never prepared.  And as I've always said, you just never know.  I damn sure didn't today and I'm still in denial that I won't see my friend again. 

RIP Leonard.  I'm thinking of you.  Love you, man.

Lunch with old friends in the Flats

Fortunate today to meet up with our friends from Conneaut (and Bethany!) for a great lunch along the Cuyahoga River at Lindey's Lake House (formerly the Coastal Taco).

We met through boating in Ashtabula and used to be dock partners for a few years at Riverside Yacht Club.  They still have their boat at Conneaut Boat Club.  We had so many good times with these guys and watched both of our daughters grow up.

Had a great time catching up for the first time in a few years.

Connie gets a 2nd month vacation!

Got the call yesterday from our Ashtabula Doctor, that Connie isn't going to have to be seen until late October and can keep on the same pill regimen for a treatment.  Whoo-hoo!

That means we don't HAVE to be anywhere medical for almost two months!

So we looked at a bunch of different options and have come up with the following itinerary (you can click the links to see where we're staying):

Monday, September 1st:  Leaving Ashtabula and heading to Wilmington
Tuesday, September 2nd:  Leaving Wilmington and heading to Lake Cumberland.
Wednesday, September 3rd:  Leaving Lake Cumberland and heading to Chattanooga
Friday, September 5th:  Leaving Chattanooga and heading to Atlanta
Monday, September 8th:  Leaving Atlanta and heading to Columbus, GA
Tuesday, September 9th:  Leaving Columbus, GA and heading to Panama City Beach, FL
Tuesday, September 16th:  Leaving Panama City Beach and heading to Foley, AL (Gulf Shores).

Its college football season, so we have a "no travel Saturday" rule in effect.  We'll be able to visit with the Ohio State Alumni of Atlanta at their game watch on the 6th for the night game against Virginia Tech.  Stoked about that.

Secondly, we were looking at some of our favorite performers and started seeing "Panama Beach" show up a bunch.  Turns out there's a "Chasing the Sun Music Festival" there starting on Friday the 12th.  Uber cool!  You can read about it by clicking this link.  Going to be a blast!

Connie and I are super excited!  Check back often as we'll be updating along the way.

Taking a break.......

No, not from blogging.  We've already done that.  Wow, last post was June 16th?  I'm sure all of you have been concerned.  No need to be, we've just been hanging in Ashtabula.

Connie met with her oncologist today who said that because there's no progression that's concerning him from her most recent scans.  Her treatment today was postponed and he's going to give her a month off from chemo.  We're very happy to say the least.

Which, of course, leads to our exit from Ohio back to Texas.  Dr. Aponte, who we had been seeing since the onset of her diagnosis in 2013, has left Corpus Christi and moved to San Antonio.  She's out.  We had been considering moving to a doctor who had a branch in Rockport, so now he's in.

Right now, we're in the process of sending him all the documents from the Cleveland Clinic so that he can make an informed decision as far as moving forward since he'll be calling the ball.  When to do that is the big question!  Do we travel now to Corpus knowing that we don't have anything here for a month?  Do we wait here until we meet with her Ashtabula Oncologist in a month?

Stay tuned!

It was either the tests or laughing too hard....

Just had a memorable weekend.

On Thursday, Connie got X-rays on the hole in her lung (pneumo thorax) then Friday met with the Pulmonary Doctor.  We both thought it was odd that she did a breathing test, where you exhale as hard as you can, inhale large, then exhale hard again.  She probably did that 5-6 repetitions.

Doctor said she still had a small hole, but we wouldn't need to see him for a month unless she started having pains at which point we were to call 9-1-1 immediately.  Disappointed that the lung wasn't fully healed, but with him saying see you in a month, we could tell his lack of concern.

We went over to our friends Don and April in Russell Township (Geauga Co.) for dinner and a sleepover before going to head to Bethany and James' house for her birthday celebration on Saturday.  We've known the Green's for 30 years, Don was the head football coach where I got my first Band Director job in Jamestown, Ohio.  Been friends ever since.

After a few beverages, we started going over stories, remembering this, remembering that, correcting each other on what we all thought were the facts.  We did a lot of laughing.

About 4a the next morning, Connie sat up and said she was having some pains, but she was going to try and sleep a different way.  About 6:30a, the pain was still there and off we headed for Hillcrest hospital.  Did all the tests, X-Rays, Cat Scans, etc. and, though the hole was still there, it wasn't any different from the scans on Thursday.  After ruling everything out, and the pain subsiding, they released her from the E.R.  She was allowed to go to Bethany's as long as she didn't do anything.

We went back to Don and April's (who were watching the girls along with their 3 cockers), gathered up everything, and headed to Fairview Park (OH) where Bethany and James live.  Had another great time there, Connie's Dad and his friend surprised Bethany by driving up from Wilmington (OH).

We met lots of Bethany and James' friends and co-workers, even reconnected with one of Bethany's childhood friends from Ashtabula.  Carmen and Sloopy even met some new friends.  The morning took its toll and we retired earlier than others.

Sunday (Father's Day), Bethany and James took his Dad and I to Springvale Golf Course for 18 holes of fun and laughter while Connie and James' Mom stayed back at their house.  Perfect weather, great fun, and a nice course.  I really enjoyed it.

After another terrific dinner, we gathered up our stuff and the girls and headed back home to Ashtabula.  A memorable weekend in our rear view mirror.

Beginning to get some structure

All the doctors have gotten together, and we've got some clarity.

We will keep on plan and head to Santo, TX Wednesday where we'll join a Heartland Rally with 28 other RV's.

Connie will fly out to Cleveland from Dallas on Saturday, then have her Cleveland Clinic consultation in Ashtabula on Tuesday morning.  Our friends Don and April are going to pick her up and keep her overnight on Saturday, then our good friend Lenny is going to keep her for most of the month of April.

Park where we stay isn't open until May 1st, and I'm not going to pay $351 for a week or $1053 for a month at Indian Creek at Geneva on the Lake.  (I paid $300 A MONTH in Texas).  So, I'll hang around Dallas for a week, then make a slow trek north.  Here's a link to my framework map.  Everything is a "soft plan".

I've had a 26' boat in 6'-8' waves by myself from Eastlake to Fairport Harbor.  I was with others, but keeping a hand on the throttle and a hand on the wheel, I couldn't answer them on the radio when they kept asking me if "I was OK?"  That was scary.  This shouldn't be a big deal.  Already had a few offers to ride shotgun which I appreciate.  I've scheduled no overnights and go.  I'll do at least two nights at each stop.

That's the start of the adventure.  Hope you'll keep Connie in your prayers.

The Travel Blog once again becomes a Travel Blog...

 Time for this blog to revert back to its roots and talk about our travels.  Thanks to all for your prayers and support of Connie, we both appreciate it.

We left Ashtabula (the home of Ohio State Football coach Urban Meyer, by the way) on Thursday, October 10th.  Kister Marina was a great time, a great place right on the Ashtabula River, and we saw a lot of old friends in addition to making several new ones.  Can easily say we had a great summer.

Our plans were to head to my Mom's area (Cardington, OH) for a couple of days, then Connie's Dad's area (Wilmington, our hometown) for a couple of days.  We got rolling casually late and about 49 miles from our exit I started noticing some smoke coming from our driver's side tires.  Immediately pulled over to see that one of our tires had let go.  <sigh>  Tires have been a big issue with us.  We've loved our rigs, but they have come with some cheap ass tires.  Had some good news as our Good Sam Roadside Assistance was very handy.  The spare was easy to get down and put on.  Only cost us about 90 minutes.

You can barely see our
rig on the horizon of this
huge parking lot

We had left things open, since Connie's treatment was Wednesday (10/9) and didn't know how she'd feel.  That being said, we didn't make reservations.  Every campground is having its 'year end', everybody get together.  So, when we arrived at the Cardinal Camping Center, we were basically put in steerage.  Gravel parking lot, 50 amp and water, but no sewage.  Not a biggie as we weren't really "camping", just storing our house for a few days.

Our daughter Bethany came down after work on Thursday, and we spend a wonderful day with my Mom shopping at Polaris (while I had the tire swapped out at NTB Polaris), just south of there.  Mom wanted to make it our "Christmas" shopping, and was a little frustrated that there was more 'shopping' than 'buying'.  Had a great dinner at Max & Erma's, then stopped over to see our friends Dave and Jean and their daughters.

Got up early Saturday morning (7:30a is early for us), walked the dogs, got the chair put back in the basement, and changed the tire.  First time on this beast, everything went very well.  Was done by 9:00a.  As I was sliding the spare back under to go up, I saw something in the remaining tire:  a screw.  Couldn't believe it.  Now, we've got problems.  Noon check out, and a had a run back into NTB Polaris.  Guy there was who waited on me the day before and I think he felt sorry for me.  Got me right in and out, so that by 10:15a, I had it on the rig and we could start tearing down.

Pretty uneventful ride until we got to our SR 73 exit for Waynesville and the traffic was backed up incredibly.  I guess there were was a big festival (Sauerkraut Festival), the Flea Market, the Renaissance Center and everything else going on.

We got into the Thousand Trails Wilmington at about 2:30p.  You'll have to read my review after I post it, but it's not going to be glowing.  Met some friends from our "Heartland Family" here, and Connie's Dad and Aunt came out and we had a wonderful dinner and time together afterward.

September - Where Does the Time Go?!

Once again, it has been a long layoff from posting.  We have had a lot going on in the month of September.

For starters, we made a visit to Wilmington on the 4th.  Nothing special, just checking in with my parents.  We spent time together enjoying the time together.

Sloopy offering her love and support.

As it turns out, that would be the last visit with Mom.  She unexpectedly passed away on September 13.  So, another trip to Wilmington.  We stayed a couple of days to help Dad with some of the paperwork stuff.    The Clinton County Senior Center had a wonderful potluck for us after the services. Was nice seeing friends and family - despite the circumstances.

Down on the farm.

During some down time, we had the opportunity to visit the farm where my maternal grandparents lived.  The dogs (Sloopy, Carmen & Tucker) really enjoyed running around and checking out all the new smells.









Back to Ashtabula.  The weather has certainly turned more to Fall.  We have had some nice afternoons that have allowed us to sit outside and watch some baseball and of course, college football.  A few visits from friends have made those afternoon and evenings very enjoyable.  All this gave us great excuses to use the new smoker grill.  Yum!


Sad time of year as we have taken the raft out of the water and put it in storage.  This year, we will leave it here since we have not made much use of it in Texas.

Yesterday, I had a followup brain MRI.  The good news is that the big tumor had not grown.  The bad news is that it had not shrunk,  either.  The doctor wants to take another check in 2-3 months, so we will have that done in Texas.  Next up is the followup spine MRI on Friday.

Folks here at Kister Marina are starting to pack up and head home for the winter.  We too, are starting to get organized for our trip south.  At this time, our departure date is scheduled for October 11.

Go Buckeyes!

20 days in one post

Sorry for being absent for so long.  I've mentioned before how I have to drag myself to write.  I wish I enjoyed doing it more.  I read so many blogs that I can tell, these people enjoy writing.  Never been me.  Not something I can "learn" to do, but I'm trying.

Connie's treatment on the 9th went, according to people who know, very well.  With this radiation surgery, as we found out with the brain radiation in March/April, takes a while to 'see' progress.  The radiation works for literally months as it melts the tumors.  Connie will get more CAT scans, etc. at the end of September.

We took off for a little personal time to visit our friends from Bellevue, OH for her birthday.  Took a day trip to Sandusky on the 13th, then loaded the rig on the Miller Ferry for a trip to probably our favorite place in Ohio:  Put-In-Bay.  It was celebration, but it was also recon to see if next year, we can spend a week out there.

Great times, saw Calabash at the Roundhouse, had a couple of beers on the Boardwalk overlooking 'the balls' where we used to park the boat, and Mustang Sally at the Beer Barrel.

Also, had a wonderful surprise that our good friend from Columbus, Craig, and Dennis and Karen's daughter Ashley, made the trip up.  Such good times with our friends.  We don't do it enough.

Friday, the 16th, we stayed over to Sandusky to watch Wally and the Beavs, another of our favorite 'bands of summer'.  Watching Wally and the Beavs, for me, is like looking into a what could have been mirror had I have decided to play and gig instead of not.  Guys look like they're having a blast, they play well, they play the tunes I would be playing and gigging with had I have chosen that route.

Came back to Ashtabula and met with our friends, Ed & Loretta, from Sea Breeze RV park in Texas.  They're trekking cross country from their home in New Jersey to Seattle to take their great grand son back to school.  Fun showing off our town, just shooting the breeze with friends.

The Wine and Walleye Fest was held last weekend (the 23rd - 25th) and it was so good to see our town alive and Bridge Street, in particular, welcoming so many guests for a weekend.  Said hello to people we hadn't seen in years.  The lighted boat parade was fun to see.  With the advancement of generators, makes that really a neat option.

Started last night hopping back up on a podium and running a rehearsal for an Alumni Band performance at the high school where I taught.  Felt like I never left.

Connie having a treatment this morning, and we both hope it doesn't knock her flat, but to quote Yogi Berra, "we never know until we know."  Always clear the schedule from Wednesday through Sunday.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

We've Been Having Some Fun!

Again, it has been a while since we have updated everyone.  Sorry about that, but we have actually been out and about having some fun.  All, of course, mixed in with more appointments.

The MRI and mapping simulation for the Novalis Radiosurgery was done on July 31st.  The actual procedure will be done on Friday, Aug. 9.  This will treat the tumor on the spine and hopefully reduce the back pain.

Bubba Watson on leaving #16

David Feherty posing for Bob

Thanks to our friend, Rich, we were able to enjoy the Bridgestone Invitational Golf Tournament in person.  I was feeling good and able to get around fairly easy.  It helped that the tournament offered shuttles from the parking lot to whatever hole I desired.  I went Thursday and Friday and really enjoyed it.  Bob took Saturday off and went back on Sunday with our friend, Don.

Another cool happening was that I was reconnected with a high school friend, Joni.  Could not believe it when I saw her facebook post that mentioned she was at Ashtabula Yacht Club!  That's right next door.  Was able to hook up on Monday for a visit.  Hoping for several more this season.

Like I said, we've been busy having fun.  Looking forward to our Put-in-Bay trip next week!

Friends, friends, everywhere....

Monday we greeted our friend Karen from Bellevue (OH).  Karen is married to our good friend from tOSU, Dennis.  We've always enjoyed their company.  She's so much fun.  We spent most of the (rainy, crappy) day catching each other up (she's not a Facebooker) since Bethany's wedding.  Laughed.  A lot.  Wish we could have imported someone to be our fourth to play Euchre, that was the only thing missing.  Lenny also came over and joined in the festivities.

Tuesday, was a better day and we took a raft ride on the Ashtabula River.  Followed it by a delish lunch at Briquettes Smokehouse on Bridge Street after a little ride around showing Karen our old house, Lenny's place and the Elks Club.  We both had the pulled pork sandwich, it was excellent!

Wednesday night, Lenny came over and helped us break in the new blue rope lights on the awning.  Also found out it will take a pretty good rainstorm and not flinch.  (Good news as I've had serious bad luck with awnings).

Thursday (July 4th) we had a surprise visit from a couple of our boating friends from the past (Dave & Carolyn).  They both looked spectacular.  Then, our friends Don and April came over.  We've been friends for almost 30 years.  Ate a bunch, drank too much.  Laughed a lot.  Got a river raft in.  Finally didn't have rain until late at night.

No treatments or Doctor's appointments this coming week and we got an offer from Royal Caribbean for a free 1 night cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas redeployment after her fire.  Going to do some serious driving, see Connie's parents, our hometown of Wilmington, our daughter and son-in-law, Baltimore, and much more.  Will be blogging quite a bit next week.

Busy doing Nothing

Well, we sure have had a lot of rain since we returned from the RV rally.  Not sure if it is annoying us since we were so rain devoid in TX or if it really is more than usual for us here.  Sure makes it hard to keep the place looking neat and tidy.

We had the pleasure of meeting fellow full-time RVers and bloggers - Janice and Dave Evans.  I had read that they were in the area, so I wanted to meet up.  We enjoyed each others company over some Harbor Perk refreshments.

The week was broken up with a treatment  on Tuesday and another MRI on Thursday.  Still waiting on the results from this one.

We were able to manage a couple of river raft rides in between the rain.  So nice to be back on the river and hooking up with old friends.

They are dredging the river (still) and the other day, one of the barges had to wait on the railroad bridge.  Since there are not any brakes on those, he had to beach it.  Happy to report there were no issues when he got the all clear to proceed.

Our latest purchase has been the fold up bike for my transportation.  Was great getting to and from the dingy dock.  Offers some exercise without taxing the feet.

We are gearing up for the holiday week.  Friends are coming to visit on Monday and on the 4th.  So excited to see everyone again.

Happy 4th of July!

What a week....

Sitting in some church's parking lot two blocks from the Cleveland Clinic with the rig and the girls.  Thought I would reflect on the week passed.
We had nothing but rain and miserable weather the first part of the week.  Awful.  Zero good.  Don't think it ever broke 60.
On Tuesday, there was a little bit of a break, so I thought I would dump the water out of the raft and maybe take a little test.  Got just far enough away from the dock and the engine died.  Rowed myself back to the dock (which was a great cardio workout, by the way) and took a look at the engine, the line, the tank.  I couldn't figure out anything simple, which would have been all I could have dealt with.
Tuesday, I got up early and headed to the south of Ashtabula County (actually, into PA) and had a Nissan outboard guy take a look at it.  Turns out, our tank lid has a leak and there was tons of water in the tank.  He went in, cleaned some things up, and within an hour, I was back on my way.
I took Connie to Ashtabula Medical Center at noon, as she was scheduled to do some CT scans and MRI's.  After she was done at 4:30p, we headed off to our daughter's place to celebrate her 27th birthday.  Hardly seems possible.
My good friend Rich was in town at the airport for some business, and we were fortunate that he could join the four of us at a restaurant in Rocky River for dinner.  Great times as always.
While we were gone, the girls and Tucker kept themselves amused at Bethany's house and continued on after we got home.  Damn, that dog can play hard.
Wednesday, we headed back to Ashtabula and stopped at the Cleveland Clinic in Willoughby Hills for my blood work as I had an appointment on Thursday as part of my annual check up where they tell me I'm fat and need to change my diet.
Rained again on Thursday, so no packing.  We did however feel safe since we hadn't heard from any doctors saying to get Connie to the hospital making our reservation for the National Heartland RV Rally in Goshen, Indiana put on by the Heartland Owners Club.  A solid week of networking, meeting old friends, making new friends, hearing seminars from suppliers and what not.  We'd been holding off until what we thought was the last minute.

First trip for the bike!

Friday morning it let up and we could get the rig packed and head to the Ohio Heartland RV Rally at Scenic Hills RV in Berlin, OH (Amish country, Little Switzerland, etc.).  Sugarcreek, OH that we got the call we didn't want to get.  Our oncologist was setting up appointments for Connie at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday to see their radiation oncologist and gamma knife specialist.  Results from the CT scan weren't good.
It was as we were passing through
Nothing that was going to make us turn around that moment, but it was going to make us change our plans.  (more on that in a moment).

There were 8 couples at the Scenic Hills RV Park, all Heartland owners and 3 couples from Xenia -- about 17 miles north of where we both grew up (Wilmington) and 8 miles west of where I taught for my first four years (Jamestown).  Was a fantastic time, with eating and a campfire being the main attractions.
Our first meal on Friday night was at Mrs. Yoder's kitchen, a great buffet that was packed on a Friday night with both tourists and locals.  (The parking lot was the giveaway).

Saturday afternoon we took a drive into Sugarcreek (the park gave us a couple for a 1/3 lb. of free cheese at the Swiss Village Bulk Foods -- can't pass that up!).  They had samples of Homemade Chocolate Chip Cheeseball with graham cracker prezels that was awesome!
On the way back started looking for a furniture piece Connie had seen at the RV office which would be the answer for our dilemma of sitting in our recliners and not being able to put down our beverages.  Not only found that in a color/wood we liked, but also a "C" table that solved the same problem for our couch.  Wonderful!

Saturday night, we went to an Amish family's house for dinner.  Spectacular food!  We finished the evening around the fire (with hard woods supplied by the campground, which was outstanding).


Sunday, our change of plans took effect.  We were supposed to roll over to Bethany's in laws to celebrate his birthday and spend the evening with them on our way to Goshen, IN.  Once the Monday appointments took place, we called our friends Don and April, who have a church behind their house, to see if we could bum a night there.  Worked out well, generator worked well, good night of boon docking (or "coon doggling" which is a long, funny story I won't get into).
Got business done Monday morning and took off to the Cleveland Clinic where I dropped Connie off for her appointments, then found a large church parking lot where the cabbies are all sitting, waiting for their next fare.
The girls and I will sit here until after Connie's appointments.  If she has no further appointments the rest of this week, we're heading to Indiana from here.  If she has to come back this week, we'll go back to Ashtabula and have to scuttle plans to do the rally.
I'll be blogging either tonight or tomorrow when I know.

Another Doctor

Today kind of took me back to an old TV show (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood).  I felt like singing "Won't You Be My Doctor".  We met with yet another doctor this afternoon.  This was just a consultation to get set up to take the IV treatments here in Ashtabula.  A nice convenience since they are typically only 45 minutes.

No news with this visit other than I will finally be able to have my blood drawn thru the port that was implanted instead of being poked in the arm.  Yippee!  Hopefully, we will start getting some appointments for the followup scans.

The doctor did give a disappointing answer to one of my questions.  Was asking about exercise.  He pretty much told me that golf would be out of the question.  It would most likely create issues with the current condition I am experiencing with my hands from the medication.  Very upset over this.  Will have to find another outdoor activity that will be tolerated.

As is always the case in Ohio, the weather has turned again.  Rain came in yesterday evening and has been on and off all day today.  Temperatures have also dropped.  Ran the air early yesterday and am sitting here tonight with the windows closed and the fireplace on.  Ugh!

Hoping we can get together with some friends for the weekend.  Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Settling in to our summer home

Beginning to settle in to our summer Ashtabula home here at Kister Marina.  We've added flowers, steps to the RV and met many of the neighbors.

Everyone here, it seems, at one time was a boater, which makes it nice.  The "park" really came about for charter fisherman, who wouldn't live on their boats, but in their RV's parked onshore.  Boating and charter fishing has really been impacted by the high fuel costs.  Most of the RV'ers here still have their camping spot, pool together and fish off person X's boat, and this is mostly a place for weekenders from the Youngstown or Pittsburgh area.  Monday through Thursday its pretty much a ghost town.  Friday through Sunday everyone shows up.

Lake Erie sunsets
from Walnut Blvd.

 One thing that our southern RV'ers really don't understand, but I was thrown back into this past weekend, was the annual "opening up" of the rigs, the boats, etc.  Its a time we all looked forward to, usually the 2 or 3 weeks before Memorial Day.  Such a feeling of optimism, that winter is over and that summer is just around the corner.

 We've pretty much driven everywhere in town, seeing the changes both positive and negative.  The Ashtabula Lift Bridge is the iconic piece to this town and its still fun to see it.

On the Connie health front, we were glad to find out she can do her treatments right here at Ashtabula County Medical Center (ACMC) as they've become an affiliate of the Cleveland Clinic.  That will save running over to main campus (about an hour) every three weeks.  We have an appointment with a local doctor here this week that will be in charge of her treatments locally.

Sloopy struggles
to be comfortable

 Trying to drop my winter weight, and our friend Lenny helped by letting me use one of his bikes this summer.  Hoping to make it a routine I can stay with.

Family Time!

We packed up and headed to Bethany and James' new house on Tuesday.  I was able to see it when they moved in.  This was Bob's first time seeing the place.  I was very impressed with what all they had done with the place.  Looks great.  We both were very happy with the house and the neighborhood.  Nice job guys - so very proud of you both!


We joined up with my parents and Bob's mother.  The "kids" had a house full with all of us and the dogs.  They fixed a wonderful steak dinner for us all.  So nice to relax and visit with everyone.  And, the dogs were enjoying the playtime too.




Wednesday was treatment day at the Cleveland Clinic.  As much as I love my doctor and the clinic, I have to say I was not excited to see them all again.  But, the clinic is such a gem.  Just another thing we take for granted up here!

A quick visit/goodbye after the clinic visit and we headed back to Ashtabula.  Was so nice to spend time with family.

The clinic stuff went very well.  And, we found out that we can now do all the treatments in Ashtabula from now on.

No side effects of note today, so I was able to enjoy the beautiful weather - after working, of course.  Neighbors came over for a very short "happy hour".   So nice to be able to be outside and meet people.

Hoping the weather holds out for the weekend!